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The Cherry Creek neighborhood went into mourning when Greg Goldfogel closed Amore last year. (The space it once occupied across from Little Ollie's s slated to become a Hudson's steakhouse.) But Goldfogel gave Denver a real consolation prize with Alto Restaurant, the spot he opened in the former home of Sambucca at 1320 15th Street.

Since February 2007, Alto has been serving up contemporary American cuisine and often live music. And starting today, May 20, it will be open for lunch Tuesday through Friday. Just in time, too, because the intimate patio should make this a perfect spot for a long, leisurely lunch on these unexpectedly hot days. -- Paticia Calhoun

Okay, what the hell is up with my coffee?

Seriously, I go to Starbucks because I like Starbucks. If I didn't like Starbucks, I could go to any one of a dozen other coffee shops within spitting distance of my office door. But I don't, because I like Starbucks. Or I did, anyhow.

I know I'm not supposed to. Corporate giant and whatnot. But I do. Or I did. And a lot of other people do (did) too, seeing as how there are forty-seven Starbucks on the 16th Street Mall alone. There are several on every block. Some of the Starbucks have Starbucks. This is because the place is popular. The lines are long. The people must have their coffee.

But in mid-April, Starbucks rolled out a new blend called Pike Place Roast, named for the street address of the original Seattle store. But as for the coffee, frankly, it's a complete sell-out. (Can a corporate giant sell out? Is that possible? Might that even be a good thing, like two negatives canceling each other out?) Anyway, in this case, the coffee bites, and I have a caffeine headache because I won't drink the stuff.

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I forgot to mention this interesting little side note in my blog about Tazo's sneak-preview, media-only dinner on Monday night (which also happened to be Cinco de Mayo)...

We arrived a little early and were sipping some tea-infused cocktails when Chef "Goose" Sorensen of Solera appeared suddenly behind the bar, looking somewhat harrassed. "I need some extra help back there," he informed our hosts. "Pretty much my entire staff is cruising Federal right now."

Still, the dinner turned out wonderfully, considering the lack of warm bodies in the back to get the food out those kitchen doors. -- Amber Taufen

Try the tea-infused duck at Solera. Photo by Matthew Staver.

Dining in the dark and tea-infused dishes are two recent trends in restaurants; on Monday, May 5, I got to experience both at Solera Restaurant and Wine Bar (5410 East Colfax Avenue, 303-388-8429, www.solerarestaurant.com). Chef Christian “Goose” Sorensen created a four-course menu of tea-infused dishes, paired with tea-infused cocktails, served to a group of media entirely in the dark.

First, Tazo coffee and tea education master Christian Duke gave a presentation describing the differences between the types of tea and the difference between a tea and an herbal infusion. He explained that most teas -- including white tea, green tea, black tea and oolong tea -- all come from the same plant, a tea plant comprised of two leaves and a bud. It is after the tea is picked that the differences come into play; for example, a white tea is plucked and dried immediately, while green, black and oolong teas are withered for different amounts of time before being dried, which gives them their distinct flavor profiles. There are also hot brewed drinks commonly called “teas” that are merely herbal infusions; these do not contain the tea plant, but may instead contain hibiscus flower, orange essences, cardamom and other herbs and spices. We sampled a range of Tazo teas (I’m partial to the Vanilla Apricot White, the Organic Chai black tea and the Wild Sweet Orange herbal infusion).

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“Pickles! Pickles! Hey, man, you want one of these pickles? One dollar.”

I open my mouth to speak. “Uhhh . . .” I had just walked out of the cramped convenience store on the northeast corner of East Bruce Randolph Avenue and York Street, an intersection that I call the “new Five Points” after the old Five Points became a place for white expatriates of other gentrified ‘hoods.

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What are you doing tomorrow? If the answer to that question is "nothing" and you happen to love cooking challenge shows like I do, then you should check out tomorrow's taping of The Next Great Chef.

The show will be taped for the Food Network between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Studios at Comcast Media Center, 4100 East Dry Creek Road in Centennial. The event will be emceed by Keegan Gerhard and will feature four chefs competing in two rounds -- appetizer and entrée -- to display their skills. The competitors are Sean Brock, Chris Cheung, Jonathan Leiva and Sue Zemanick and the stakes are high -- the winning chef takes home a prize of $10,000.

The event has limited seating and you must RSVP to Mitch Dickman at 720-290-1104 to get in, but if watching TV alone on your couch has lost its once glorious appeal, maybe it's time to get a closer look at the competition. Hurry to the kitchen -- things are sure sizzling in there.

-- Aubrey Shoe

Keen readers may have noticed we didn't give an award for Best Coffee Shop in this year’s Best of Denver issue. There’s a reason. Coffee shop awards are the third rail of best-of editions. Most people rabidly adore their favorite java joint with the same passion usually reserved for a first-born child, and so when their café doesn’t win Best of Denver, threats usually follow of lynching and/or castration directed towards the numskulls responsible for the oversight. (For the same reason, Westword doesn't give a Best Mexican Restaurant award -- we divide that category into many Mexican awards, because there are so many Mexican restaurants we love.)

But while the Best of Denver 2008 stayed away from the controversial subject of coffee, Forbes did not. With the help of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, it recently compiled a list of “America’s Best Boutique Coffees,” and in Denver the honor went to Novo Coffee, a local roaster that also operates coffee shops in Arvada and the Denver Art Museum. From Ninth Street Espresso in New York City to the LA Mill on the opposite coast, that puts the family-owned Novo in rarified company.

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I asked the Mexican what he wanted to eat during his visit to Denver.

In addition to being the author of Ask a Mexican, a weekly column now published in 31 papers, Gustavo Arellano is the food editor at our sibling paper, OC Weekly, in Southern California. So finding the perfect lunch spot before his appearance at Belmar earlier this month took some thinking. At first, we thought taking the Mexican to eat what passes for Mexican food in this town might be the equivalent of taking coals to Newcastle (or vice versa), but Gustavo said he was eager to sample Colorado’s unique take on Mexican food.

So then we simply had to do was choose from the dozens of great Mexican restaurants in this city.

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Despite the much vaunted pooch-walking service, there wasn't a pet in sight at French 250, which hosted an opening party last night. But with plenty of pretty people pouring in and bottles of champagne pouring out, it doesn't look like this restaurant will be going to the dogs anytime soon.

French 250 took over the space at 250 Steele Street that was pioneered long ago by Bistro Adde Brewster. Since Adde's left, the spot has been a black hole of suck. But with French 250 now right next to two-week-old Tambien, which is making great margs in the former Sketch space, things are looking much brighter for this Cherry Creek address. -- Patricia Calhoun

On September 5, assorted chefs from the Oceanaire Seafood Room restaurants will offer up the Ultimate Seafood Experience at the James Beard House in New York City – and Matt Mine, chef at Denver’s Oceanaire that opened just a month ago at 1400 Arapahoe Street, will be among them.

On Wednesday, he debuted the six courses he cooked up that are in contention for the Ultimate menu, which will be chosen on Monday. “I was trying to get a lot of regional and seasonal products,” he said, which explains the Colorado peach tart and the corn in the lobster and summer vegetable confit (call it succotash) that came with the pan-seared Alaska halibut. But there wasn’t a trout in sight, and the best dish involved a fish very out of water in this state: pan-fried skate in a veal reduction, with escargot, arugula pesto and some inexplicable fava beans.

Sadly, the chicken-fried oysters with homemade sausage gravy appetizer that Mine cooked up for Oceanaire’s Denver menu aren’t being submitted for the Beard dinner – but then, New York foodies probably aren’t ready for such greasy goodness. – Patricia Calhoun

Rise and shine, hipsters! Two of Denver’s finest bar/pub hangouts are now serving brunch.

Sputnik -- located at 3 South Broadway next to the hi-dive -- has been serving up brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for about a month now, and offers a nice, spicy bloody Mary for $3 and bottomless mimosas for $5. The hangover bowl is a true force to be reckoned with after a night of too many indulgences, brimming over with scrambled eggs, vegetarian green chile, cheese and sweet potato fries, all for just $6. You can add chorizo $1 more (a meatless version is available, too).

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I don't know why seeing Cedric the Entertainer would make you want to drink vodka, but clearly the people who sell Ceren Vodka think it's a great idea, because Cedric was at the Ceren launch party at the Mile High Station last week.

When I asked Cedric for his favorite cocktail, he said he liked to keep it "gangsta style" with Ceren (no surprise there) on the rocks with three (not two or four) limes squeezed in it, then tossed. No rind in his glass -- that's not street enough for "the entertainer." -- Nancy Levine

While art galleries keep looking for loopholes in the state liquor laws that would allow them to serve alcohol during openings, one bar has already come up with a solution. The Highland Tavern, located at 3400 Navajo Street, is passing out Art Bucks good for a dollar off your tab at the bar. And at the Tavern -- where drink specials already include $3 premium drafts during the daily happy “hour” that lasts from 4-7 p.m. — that extra buck can go a long way.

The paintings of local artist Jim Rase are featured in the bar this week. For more information on art bucks, hours and drink specials, call 303-433-1990 or visit www.highlandtavern.com.
– Aubrey Shoe

The Stapleton neighborhood just got a new place where you can grab a quick bite for breakfast. Udi’s Bread Café (7357 East 29th Avenue, 303-329-8888) -- already revered for dishing up some of the neighborhood’s best dinner and weekend brunch entrees -- began serving up a pared-down weekday breakfast menu last week.

The menu, which is served from 7-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, includes egg sandwiches, pastries, breakfast burritos and, of course, the ubiquitous granola that put Udi’s on the map. All of Udi’s breads and pastries, including the popular pecan rolls, are baked fresh at Udi’s Café and Bakery at 7000 Broadway; the Broadway location serves weekday breakfast from 7-10 a.m. and lunch until 2 p.m. (It’s closed on the weekends.)

While the new weekday menu at the Stapleton Udi’s doesn’t include the full menu of weekend brunch favorites -- such as huevos rancheros, omelets, pancakes and French toast -- it’s still a sure bet for a good, locally grown, freshly baked breakfast on the go.

-- Aubrey Shoe